Filcao Columbia

[ninad]

Hi all, I'm new to this section of FPN, and new to Italian pens in general. I stumbled across the Filcao Columbia fountain pen somewhere on the internet, and am quite interested in it. It's designed by Richard Binder and Filcao, and hand crafted etc. with sterling silver appointments.

 

I had two questions: How do people like this pen? It looks pretty good, and the button filler warms my heart. However I am concerned that the only major posts about the pen on this board are about sac repair Also, I have been unable to find photos of people holding this pen, or commenting on how it writes.

 

Second, Filcao apparently can still supply this pen for about €115 (~165+) including shipping to the US. Is this a good price for this pen? I don't mind a used pen, if I can find one at a better price somewhere (older FPN sales were $80-100).

 

Any advice or help would be appreciated!

 

- ninad

 

[raging.dragon]

I'd never seen or read about thse pens before. Filcao don't get much attention on FPN, but what I've read of them is positive. From your link it looks like these pens have been around for 10+ years, and sacs wear out over time (and a batch of sacs hit the market about a decade ago too), so I wouldn't worry too much about the sac repair posts.

 

The lapis acryllic is nice. The price is reasonable for a high end steel nibbed pen: a bit higher than the production Edison pens, and competitive with various steel nibbed Bexley's.

[Faisel]

I was around (on Pentrace) when these first came out. Everyone who got one loved them. Richard designed then to be as user friendly as possible. I didn't get one at the time but after reading all of the positive reviews I regretted it. Replacing a sac is fairly simple (probably the easiest repair). The price sound reasonable. I'd get one if I were you. I don't think you'll regret it.

 

I would love to know where you are getting yours from. I might be able to finally get one myself. :-)

[ninad]

I'd never seen or read about thse pens before. Filcao don't get much attention on FPN, but what I've read of them is positive. From your link it looks like these pens have been around for 10+ years, and sacs wear out over time (and a batch of sacs hit the market about a decade ago too), so I wouldn't worry too much about the sac repair posts.

 

The lapis acryllic is nice. The price is reasonable for a high end steel nibbed pen: a bit higher than the production Edison pens, and competitive with various steel nibbed Bexley's.

 

 

I was around (on Pentrace) when these first came out. Everyone who got one loved them. Richard designed then to be as user friendly as possible. I didn't get one at the time but after reading all of the positive reviews I regretted it. Replacing a sac is fairly simple (probably the easiest repair). The price sound reasonable. I'd get one if I were you. I don't think you'll regret it.

 

I would love to know where you are getting yours from. I might be able to finally get one myself. :-)

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. I found that someone was selling a Columbia in the Classifieds page here and therefore purchased it from them. I did spend a bit of time researching the matter, so I will note a few key findings here:

 

1. The earliest pens suffered from defective latex sacs, so if you buy an older model, you may want to make sure that the sac has been replaced (or do so yourself - button filler). The problem is reportedly fixed now.

 

2. There are no US distributors for the pen any more, so it has to be purchased directly from manufacturer.

 

3. The pen can be ordered from Filcao directly from Italy. Their website is: <http://www.filcaopens.com/Inglese/Indice_eng.htm>. I sent an email to two addresses, not sure which one bore fruit (but I got a reply within a day or two): <info (at) filcaopens (dot) com> and <grisolia (at) filcaopens (dot) com>. The current costs were €100 for the pen and €15 for shipping to mainland USA (April 2014 rates). Payment can be made by Paypal.

 

4. Official page for the Columbia on Filcao's website: <http://www.filcaopens.com/Inglese/Products/columbiaENG.htm>.

 

5. The best information on the Filcao Columbia can be found in this Pentrace article: <http://www.pentrace.net/penbase/Data_Returns/full_article.asp?id=430> [cached location].

 

Hope this helps anyone else seeking one of their own

Edited May 2, 2014 by ninad

[SteveE]

I have one of the early ones, purchased from Richard. I've had to re-sac it (as mentioned above), but otherwise it is a delightful little button-filler. The nib looks like a #5 -- not as large as the nibs of many of the current production pens like Bexleys, Edison's, etc.

 

The pen is straightforward in design, well balanced and well made.

 

Enjoy!

[KenS]

I have a filled Filcao Colombia setting on my desk. It's part of my regular rotation. It's an early pen, and I've replaced the sac I think once. The size of the pen is equal to a Pelikan M-800, and as mentioned, the nib is smallish (maybe #5). The lapis color is quite pleasing to me, and the overall pen is lightweight, comfortable to hold, and pleasing to write with. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

[ninad]

I finally got one of these pens from FPN member daynix, and I must say that it exceeds all my expectations. The button filler is great, and the nib is incredibly smooth. The pen itself is wonderfully balanced (I use it unposted due to its length) and its feeling in hand is comparable to a Parker Duofold Sr. The only minor quibble I have is that it takes too many turns to open the cap (nearly 4 I believe?) but that's not too serious of a problem.

 

If there is interest, I could post a review of the pen comparing it with a Duofold Sr. I would like to use it for a few weeks before I do that though.

Edited May 8, 2014 by ninad

[Faisel]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I found that someone was selling a Columbia in the Classifieds page here and therefore purchased it from them. I did spend a bit of time researching the matter, so I will note a few key findings here:

 

1. The earliest pens suffered from defective latex sacs, so if you buy an older model, you may want to make sure that the sac has been replaced (or do so yourself - button filler). The problem is reportedly fixed now.

 

2. There are no US distributors for the pen any more, so it has to be purchased directly from manufacturer.

 

3. The pen can be ordered from Filcao directly from Italy. Their website is: <http://www.filcaopens.com/Inglese/Indice_eng.htm>. I sent an email to two addresses, not sure which one bore fruit (but I got a reply within a day or two): <info (at) filcaopens (dot) com> and <grisolia (at) filcaopens (dot) com>. The current costs were €100 for the pen and €15 for shipping to mainland USA (April 2014 rates). Payment can be made by Paypal.

 

4. Official page for the Columbia on Filcao's website: <http://www.filcaopens.com/Inglese/Products/columbiaENG.htm>.

 

5. The best information on the Filcao Columbia can be found in this Pentrace article: <http://www.pentrace.net/penbase/Data_Returns/full_article.asp?id=430> [cached location].

 

Hope this helps anyone else seeking one of their own

Thank you for this.

[jameswatts]

I bought one of the first ones, and the sac lasted through only two fills. wasn't sure how to fix, and so it went into the storage case. A pity, because when it worked, it wrote well. I'm about as mechanically declined as a person can be, so never made the attempt to get it fixed,

[Richard F]

I had one of these but sold it. It wrote well, but I was not impressed with the way the section fit into the barrel. Also, the clip was somewhat bumpy and not smoothly machined.

[Yehenara]

I apologise for reviving a dead thread, but is it still possible to get one of these? The Filcao website seems down, and I can't find much about the brand anywhere any more. Are they still operating?

[enricof]

Got my Sylvia in May by getting in touch with mr. Grisolia (grisolia@filcaopens.com)

[jebib111]

I purchased a Columbia and Sylvia many moons ago, and threw them into inventory. Pulled them out today and wonder why I wasn't taken by them in the first place! They both look real nice, write nice too!

[tryphon]

I have several NOS FILCAO pens in stock. Anyone interested, please send me a PM.

[entertainment]

Reviving this topic to add a photo of a partially disassembled Filcao.

 

 

The nib collar was cracked, so I had to find a replacement Schmidt FH341 nib unit. The section consists of three pieces: the Schmidt nib unit, the grip that surrounds the nib unit, and the brass nipple. The nib unit screws into the brass nipple, holding the grip in between. Unfortunately, I reassembled this part of the pen before the photo. I sealed the joint between the nib unit and the brass nipple using shellac.

 

One great design element is that the button for the filler screws into the barrel which takes away the worry of cracking the barrel during removal of the button.

 

My pen also had a pvc sac which I replaced with latex.

Edited October 10, 2018 by entertainment

[truphae_inc]

Love the colors and design of this one!

[entertainment]

The blue in my photo is definitely somewhat brighter than reality, at least on my computer.